M O N D A Y NOVEMBER 18, 2002
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVII, No. 116
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
www.browndailyherald.com
U. moves to equalize staff, faculty tuition benefits BY JONATHAN ELLIS
Courtesy of Brett Cohen
The new Brown Television program “Killing Time” is an exercise in the comedy of wit.The show faced some difficulty getting on the air, with its producers changing the date of the show’s premier several times.
ARTS & CULTURE REVIEW
‘Killing Time,’ killing viewers BY SARA PERKINS
The creators of the new Brown Television program “Killing Time” had difficulty bringing it to air, and it may be somewhat hard for viewers to watch. The show, whose first airing was moved several times to allow its producers more opportunity for editing and advertising, is practically a sitcom about a sketch comedy: the first episode follows the intrepid cast of “Killing Time” through its attempts to produce the show’s sketches. The show is a creative foray that suffers from a severe lack of polish. “Killing Time” is essentially “a sketch comedy … like (on) the Muppet Show, a sketch will end or begin, and we’ll continue to follow the antics of the ‘performers,’” explains the show’s creator, Herald Opinions Columnist Brett Cohen ’03. Most of the sketches are filmed in front of a green screen so the background can be replaced — the line between the show’s “reality” segments and its comedy sketches is defined by the use of the screen. The green screen backgrounds are simple and charmingly low budget. The main problem with “Killing Time” is that it isn’t very funny. Most of the participants lack a natural or comedic on-camera presence. The cast looks uncomfortable. The concepts of the sketches, while funny, get
lost for a variety of reasons. It takes effort for a viewer to uncover the wit. But there are moments of uncompromised humor: in particular “Contrary Dave,” who contradicts everything people say to him. He has what many of the characters lack: a solid and hilariously simple foundation, and his lines are creative. Tragically, Cohen said Dave will not appear in future episodes, leaving it to the other characters to fill the gap and establish more personality. Some characters, like “sci-fi girl,” simply need a better situation in which to shine. The first episode has three main components: cast scenes, sketches and promotional spots. In one of the first reality scenes, a rogue ping-pong ball hits the director and puts her out of commission — she is played by a body under a blanket for the remainder of the episode. Cohen takes charge and scrambles to teach the cast to act, impress the station manager and repress mutinies. Interspersed are sketch endorsements for “Crazy Poker” and the “Master Liar” home training course, as well as a misfiring bit with “failed stand-up comics.” In bits that get old, the cast also roams the campus looking for students to endorse the
Brown will extend its child tuition benefit to University staff but will also phase out its spousal tuition benefit for faculty, erasing two policies considered discriminatory by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Under the child tuition benefit, the University awards faculty members $10,000 toward a child’s tuition at any college or university, said William Crossgrove, associate dean of the faculty. But University staff received less of a benefit until the recent changes. The IRS reviewed the benefit and “had seen a difference between the programs for kids of faculty and staff,” said Mark Nickel, director of the Brown News Service. Because the higher-paid faculty received a higher benefit, the IRS considered the program discriminatory, Nickel said. The IRS routinely examines benefits packages to make sure benefits for highly compensated staff are equal, he said. “By the standards of the IRS, it’s what they call a ‘tainted’ benefit,” Crossgrove said. President Ruth Simmons used that term when she announced the changes at the Nov. 5 faculty meeting. see BENEFITS, page 4
Career Services program gives cash for summer internships BY ALLISON LOMBARDO
Unpaid summer internships at times mean long hours and hard work with no compensation. Some students can’t accept worthwhile opportunities because of financial reasons, but a University program hopes to change that. Career Services’ Brown Internship Assistance Program and Aided Internship Program help students participate in internship opportunities that otherwise would be unavailable to them. The BIAP/AIP summer program “provide(s) financial
see KILLING TIME, page 8 see BIAP, page 4
Student concentrators in most academic departments find they dig the DUG BY CASSIE RAMIREZ
Concentrators in several academic departments can look to Departmental Undergraduate Groups for support and fun during their time at Brown, organizers say. DUGs, which are run by students with the help of faculty advisors, are intended to give interested students an outlet to talk, relate or just hang out. Ethan Horowitz ’04 is a DUG coordinator for the urban studies concentration. He and Co-coordinator Jessica Jones ’03 arrange dinners once a month for concentrators or potential concentrators. Speakers, such as professors in the area of study, are sometimes featured at the dinners. At the November dinner, Horowitz said there were 50 people in attendance, including four professors. “It’s really important to foster an informal intellectual
community around us,” Horowitz said. Joshua Nugent ’03 is an urban studies concentrator who has attended some of the DUG events. “It really gives you the chance to see the larger relevance of your concentration when they bring in people who are doing post-graduate studies and people who are working outside the community,” he said. A DUG coordinator who arranges activities for chemistry concentrators, Cara Zeldis ’04 said the chemistry DUG meets the first Tuesday of every month. Its last meeting was right after Halloween, so members put liquid nitrogen in jack o’ lanterns. They also cracked vegetables that had been treated with liquid nitrogen. But not all students have the opportunity to be a part of a DUG. Some departments, including history, have no undergraduate group.
Nathan Morris ’03 is a history concentrator who doesn’t feel the lack of a DUG affects him. “The advisors are good, and they’re all available if you need help,” he said. “We had one a few years back,” said Department Chair James McClain. “The department provided funding for activities and a publication at the end of the year. It was fairly successful.” When student interest waned, the history department’s DUG was discontinued, he said. “If students came and wanted to start it again, we’d be happy to help,” McClain said. “But it’s hard to push. It has to be at the initiation of the student.” Herald staff writer Cassie Ramirez ’06 can be reached at cramirez@browndailyherald.com.
I N S I D E M O N D AY, N O V E M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 0 2 Some student leaders still mystified by University’s new ‘Brown First’ program page 3
Wendy Pearlman ’96 says that to save lives, Israel should withdraw to its 1967 borders guest column,page 9
Ateesh Chanda ’04 says Howard Zinn’s critique of George Bush was cheap, glib guest column, page 11
TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T With a 3-0 loss on the road at Dartmouth, men’s soccer wraps up an up-and-down year sports, page 12
Brown football claims its first win of the season in Hanover, defeating Dartmouth 21-18 sports, page 12
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